Snake in the Lions Den
by InanimateZeus
Summary: He felt so free, not holding back. Not acting like everyone expected him to be. Not pretending to be someone he wasn’t, the Gryffindor Golden Boy. He was a Slytherin, he had the ambition, the cunning. And nothing was going to stop him now.
1. Normalcy is not for Harry Potter

Snake in the Lions Den

Chapter One - Normalcy is not for Harry Potter  
_(Chapter from the point of view of Harry Potter)_

It all started with the events that unfolded during the battle at the Department of Mysteries. The catalyst of all the changes. Nothing would remain untouched, nothing would be spared the cruel twists of fate.

Sirius died protecting Harry, who was -albeit unknowingly- protecting a prophecy. THE prophecy. The five lines of which would dictate the birth, life, and death of Harry Potter.

Everything revolved around _him_. And whether he wanted to or not, he just couldn't ignore the words of the prophecy - as long as Voldemort believed it to be true, he would in effect cause the situation prophesized to occur. Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.

And Harry couldn't help but think - what is it really to live? 'How could I fight to gain the ability to actually live, when I'm not even sure I want to - my life isn't great.' But Harry assumed he had a choice. Fate had other plans for Harry Potter, plans that would inevitably push him even farther from the normal life he so desired. 'Why do I want to be normal? My Aunt and Uncle want to be normal, and I couldn't stand to be… _normal_. Could I?' As he dwelled in his thoughts, Harry could feel his world views changing, he very being changing. Growing colder, darker, more… realistic.

Until now, Harry had seen the world in rose tinted glasses - he didn't see the cold cruel world, he saw what he wanted to see. When Hermione was hit by the dark curse, he thought she was going to die - and a part of Harry did die, he _knew _he couldn't make it without her. Harry just didn't want to own up to his feelings, he had been subconsciously hiding them - afraid of rejection. His whole life had been nothing but despair, rejection, and death. Harry had been lying to himself the whole time, ashamed to be who he really was. He wasn't normal - he never could be.

He really was the Chosen One. He really did survive the killing curse. He really was marked as Voldemort's equal. His opposite. In any Arithmancy equation, love could be directly substituted for hate. Passion could be substituted for apathy. Fear could be replaced by acceptance. Voldemort feared death, more than anything else - while Harry accepted it as an eventuality, possibly even his fate. Voldemort, as evil as he was, was Harry's foil, the opposite in which the world was kept in balance. Opposites naturally attract in nature, he knew. Magnetic fields were just one example of such a balance. Even without the prophecy, he was bound to fight him.

He was bound to make a decision, a choice which would shake the entire world at its very core. Of course he was nervous, even afraid - he'd be a fool not to. But he just knew that fate would see to it that whatever would be, would be. 'Quelle sera sera.' Whatever happened, he knew it would be right. Everything does happen for a reason, we may not like it, but that's the way life is. And that's what made Harry different from Voldemort. Despite their similarities, Harry was content with the little things - he was content to let life live. Harry's deepest desire was family, whereas Riddle's was power.

And apparently, Harry had power - even if he didn't want it. He knew he was powerful, very powerful. He would always hold back, desperately holding onto that last shred of normalcy - like it was a lifeline. Harry always tried to live up to everyone else's expectations. And that was why, up until now, Harry had not lived. He wasn't living for himself, he was living for everyone else.

Harry would beat Voldemort, he knew he would. But he wouldn't do it for anyone else - he'd do it so that one day, he too could have a family, love, and acceptance. He'd do it to prove it to himself he could.

Harry had given up his last shred of hesitancy, his last inhibitions about himself. He felt so free, not holding back. Not acting like everyone expected him to be. Not pretending to be someone he wasn't - the Gryffindor Golden Boy. He was a Slytherin, he had the ambition, the cunning. And nothing was going to stop him now.

Sirius may have died to protect him, but in death he had given Harry the greatest gift of all - life.

He wasn't about to waste it.


	2. Mind Over Matter

Snake in the Lions Den

Chapter Two - Mind Over Matter  
_(Chapter from the point of view of Harry Potter)_

Harry spent his last two weeks at school relishing his new feeling of freedom. He would stop by every day and check on Ron, and spend time with Hermione. He had admitted how he felt to her, everything. He wasn't about to lie to anyone, especially himself. And to his surprise, she felt the same way. Ron was actually happy, because he didn't want to go after Luna while the two of them didn't have anyone. Harry told them both the prophecy as well - they deserved to know what they almost died over.

Since classes were over, Harry would spend hours on end in the library. He was copying notes on tons of subjects. With his newfound determination and no longer hiding his abilities, Harry found it easier to absorb information, easier to recall knowledge. He took thorough notes on a few topics which were of extreme interest to him. Namely, Occlumency and it's counterpart Legilimency, 'it just didn't make sense to learn one without the other' he would rationalize, the Animagus transformation, and what he recently discovered a massive proficiency towards - wandless magic.

Harry knew that wandless magic was possible, he had seen Dumbledore and Voldemort using small amounts of it. Nothing complex, but simple locking and unlocking charms, summoning charms, silencing charms and the like. But Harry quickly found he could do most magic easier without a wand than with one. It felt natural, as normal to him as breathing.

He had read you had to be immensely powerful to perform wandless magic which was the reason why most wizards and witches don't bother to learn it. But the benefits to learning wandless magic were far too immense for Harry to ignore. It would allow him to do magic without the Ministry bothering him - as they track magic by the wand, not the wizard. Harry knew that practice over the summer would greatly help him, and he could use it to keep his relatives in line.

But Harry wasn't about to give out the knowledge of what he was doing freely. He was going with his Slytherin instincts on this, and was going to keep it hidden so his enemies underestimate him. He went off in search of a stick. Finding one that looked roughly like his wand, Harry used his real wand to transfigure the fake one and make it look like his real one. Harry carefully place his real wand in his trunk - he really wouldn't need it now. However, using the fake wand, it would appear for all practical purposes that he was using a wand, but it would allow him to use his wandless magic and 'stretch his magical muscles' as the book aptly recommended. The more Harry used wandless magic, the easier it would be to focus it, and the less energy it would take to spell cast.

What really was interesting to Harry, however, was multi-casting. He wouldn't be able to accomplish using two different spells simultaneously until he mastered Occlumency - as it literally required you to have almost two separate, but parallel conscious thoughts. But Harry was confident that with Snape not 'teaching' him Occlumency any longer, he'd learn quickly. He learned more about the mental arts from the first page of his book than he had learned in the handful of lessons he'd had with that greasy haired git.

He was running late to breakfast one morning, as he had stopped by to check on Hermione and Ron, and got caught up with kissing Hermione (much to Ron's chagrin) that he had missed breakfast. That's when Harry got an idea - he could do almost anything he knew wandlessly, why couldn't he conjure some food? So, Harry was sitting at the empty Gryffindor table, concentrating with his fake wand in hand, and using pure intent, pushed his magic to conjure his favorite lunch. What Harry didn't realize was that his sensitivity to wandless magic wasn't quite adjusted yet, and he pushed so much magic that the whole length of the table was covered with his favorite foods. 'Well, on the bright side, I won't be starving this year at the Dursley's' Harry thought with amusement.

Harry didn't notice it, but the teachers were up at the staff table watching him with interest, doing magic that was well above and beyond NEWT level. Most Wizards couldn't conjure food at all - which was why Wizards still shopped at the market for food - and Harry just conjured enough to feed a small army without breaking a sweat. There was only one teacher who recognized the true significance of the feat Harry performed - Dumbledore knew that wasn't a real wand, but a fake; he could tell by looking at Harry's aura. When a person performed magic with their wand, their aura took on the color (or more precisely, the feel) of the core of the wand. When raw magic was used, a neutral color would flare in the person's aura. Where Harry's was normally a subtle green, the second Harry conjured the food he flared silver for a moment - whereas normally he'd flare red - the color of Fawkes' magical aura. Dumbledore just smiled bemusedly at Harry, his eyes twinkling at record pace.

Having ate enough food to last a week and after banishing the leftovers, Harry returned to the library. He had one week left before the end of school, and he intended to make the most of it. Most of the books in the Hogwarts library were originals - and a lot of them you couldn't find, let alone purchase nowadays. His Occlumency barriers were shaky, but building up at a nice pace. Harry could tell immediately that they were working, as the pain in his scar was progressively weakening - his nightmares being slowly replaced with dreams normal for an everyday teenager. Mostly unabashed smut involving his brown-eyed, bushy haired girlfriend. 'I could live with that over Voldemort's sick visions any day' he thought with a blush. Learning Legilimency along with Occlumency allowed him the added benefits of constantly increasing mental prowess. 'I'm definitely going to recommend this to Hermione.'

His Animagus training was on hold for the summer break, as he knew everything he'd need to know to go through the arduous process that took his father a year. Harry read up on Apparition and Portkeys, thinking it would be nice to be able to escape Privet Drive a few times. Glamour charms were next on his list as well.

Harry copied everything to parchment he could with Apparition and Portkeys - he wouldn't be able to practice on Hogwarts grounds with the wards that prevented it. Glamour charms were ridiculously easy though, and they had to be cancelled in the language they were applied in - the first thought of Harry's was a parseltounge glamour - as only he and Voldemort could cancel it.

He sat back at the table in the library, Hermione's table, the one in the rear closest to the restricted section, with a sigh. Things were looking up for a change. Yes, he missed Sirius something terrible, but he knew that he was watching over him with his parents, guiding him through the darkness. And Sirius had given him so much hope for the future, so much determination to live on. To make him proud.

To be worthy of his parents sacrifice. Sirius may be dead, but as long as he was remembered, he could never truly die.


	3. The Problem With Priorities

Snake in the Lions Den

Chapter Three - The Problem With Priorities  
_(Chapter from the point of view Albus Dumbledore)_

The past week had been a nightmare for the aging Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. From one turn of events to the other, he was barely hanging on. Public support for him had been changing erratically from one day to the next. First him and his protégé were raving, glory-hogging, attention seeking lunatics out to take over the world.

Now, now they replaced their expectations back on the Chosen One and his esteemed mentor. Where just a

week ago he had been a co-conspirator. To make matters worse, this wasn't any of Voldemort's doings, the Wizarding world really was this fickle. True, they did oust Cornelius Fudge near-unanimously after the revelation that Voldemort was indeed alive. 'How convenient' he thought with an inward grimace. On the outside, he was his normal, relatively sane, calm self. On the inside he was seething. Albus never did understand the general public, which was why he never wanted the job of being the Minister of Magic. Instead, he had chosen what should've been a more peaceful life after his defeat of Grindlewald.

Of course, life never gets any easier with age. He knew that this current war with Tom Riddle was going to get much worse before it gets better. Tom Riddle wasn't much of a Wizard, or Human anymore if one were to think about it, but what he lacked in raw power he made up for with his lack of moral compass. Oh yes, he was very powerful, but he was a perversion of magic.

Albus Dumbledore had been researching the magic behind the Dark Marks' since the beginning of the first Voldemort war. It seemed that the marks actually leeched power from anyone near him and allowed Voldemort to harness power from his nearby followers. At the cost of the life force of his followers, but of course he didn't really care about anyone's well being but his own.

'At least Grindlewald was human when I had to defeat him,' he thought with an inward sigh, 'Voldemort is nothing but a soul-less demon.' He sat down at the teachers' table. It was a Saturday, so the great hall was naturally deserted. He was sitting down, eating lightly, lost in his own thoughts when his protégé rushed into the hall. The food had been recently banished so everything could be cleaned and prepared for the next meal. Dumbledore was about to tell him to head to the kitchens to get a meal when the boy did something peculiar.

He watched as Harry pulled out a stick. A stick which was transfigured to be a duplicate of his wand. 'Most peculiar,' he thought with a bemused smile. What was even more impressive was when a second later, the whole length of the table was covered in food - which hadn't been there previously. Looking at Harry's aura, he had to stifle a gasp - the aura that surrounded Harry was normally forest green had turned bright silver. 'At least some good had come from this week, the encounter with Voldemort seemed to give the boy more determination,' he thought with a smile, 'and wandless magic is a large step from where he was just a short while ago. And wandless magic with that much potency, and he wasn't even magically exhausted…' he had to hide his excitement at the prospect.

Harry was definitely learning to control his power now, all it seemed he needed was a push in the right direction. 'It's too bad that the push had to be Sirius' he thought sadly, 'the boy could use a father figure in his life. Even if he was a Marauder.' Then he thought back to how Harry could use this new talent to improve his home life, 'He can finally defend himself without the Ministry harping on him. About time too. I was afraid that if the Dursley's got any worse I would have had to chemically alter their personalities.' Dumbledore thought with a grin, 'Oh yes. The war may just have took an interesting turn indeed.'

Ideas about how to train Harry flew though his mind, but he quickly dismissed them as soon as they came. 'He's been doing so well on his own, I'll only interfere if it seems he needs another push,' he thought, 'although it doesn't mean I cannot recommend him some good ideas on research and abilities he may want to hone. Yes, I'll sit Harry down the day before he was to leave, that way I can get some books together for his studies.'

He watched as Harry finished eating and wandlessly banished the remains, and left the room as if he didn't do anything that was supposed to be impossible. 'I'll be leaving the school in good hands when the time comes,' he thought with a smile, his eyes twinkling madly.

The rest of the day, Albus spent arranging a booklist with some personal notes for Harry in his office. Some on advanced Occlumency and potions, but the main one that he wanted Harry to read was elemental magic. It was a wandless branch of magic, and even with Albus' own minor wandless skills, became very potent. Someone with Harry's raw physical power would be downright scary with that much power at his fingertips.

That night there was a staff meeting, with the usual agenda. Budget reports, Board of Governors proposals and drafts, and miscellaneous ranting and raving. After the meeting, Minerva and Severus got in a rather heated argument. They both acknowledged his presence, when Severus turned to Albus to make a statement.

"I'm telling you Albus, something is just not right with the brat." Severus Snape was arguing after the weekly staff meeting, the hot topic was the new study habits of Harry Potter.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with a little dedication." Albus stated calmly, while inside he was feeling rather annoyed by another one of Severus' childish temper tantrums.

"He has never shown any scholastic aptitude before, and all of a sudden he just spends all his time in the library! He's up to something, I just know it."

"Severus, please shut the hell up," Minerva McGonagall interrupted his tirade, "Mr. Potter is the second highest ranked student at Hogwarts, right below Miss Granger. The only reason he doesn't show potential in potions is because of your childish attitude."

"I do not have a childish attitude. That arrogant brat just-" he didn't get to finish the sentence as an angry Minerva silenced him.

"Honestly, who is the adult here! You are arguing about a fifteen year old. Merlin! You act as if he's James Potter reincarnated. JAMES POTTER HAS BEEN DEAD FOR FOURTEEN YEARS. GET THE HELL OVER YOUR PETTY GRUDGE. If you cannot manage to grow up you have no business teaching!"

Albus secretly agreed with Minerva, but was really in a bind because he needed the information that Severus provided. He sighed inwardly, 'it was definitely a mistake having Severus attempt to teach young Harry Occlumency. Even independently Harry has made much more progress.'

Minerva continued, "You're just lucky that he hasn't gone to the Board of Governors yet! Merlin only knows how many people would sign a petition to see your arse fired. There's plenty of evidence that you abuse your powers, I mean seriously, some of your point reductions are ridiculous, '20 points from Gryffindor for breathing.'" She paused for a moment, "And with his fame and notoriety, you'd never get another job again!" She removed the silencing charm off him. "Have you even given any thought to your future?"

"What do you mean?" The potions master asked, curious to where she was going while ignoring all her past jabs.

"What will happen when he becomes Minister of Magic after killing You-Know-Who?"

"Do you honestly think he can even kill him?"

"Does it really matter? If You-Know-Who wins, it's just a matter of time until he finds out that you're a half blood. You're as good as dead with him. Not to mention he doesn't trust you. And what do you think will happen when Mr. Potter does win? He's certainly not going to be appreciating your efforts any, and he'll certainly remember how poorly you treated him." Minerva half-yelled. Albus was inwardly enjoying the hell out of her argument, praying that it got through to the potions master.

"Shit!" The potions master mumbled, "I haven't even thought about that… dammit this isn't good is it?"

Albus just sighed for a moment, before nodding, "I'm getting way too old for this. But Minerva is right, you know. You may want to make nice with him before you really end up paying the price. As it stands right now, I believe if he ever saw you on the battlefield, you would not see the light of day." He paused for a moment, "You're just about on the same level as Voldemort is to him. And it doesn't help the fact that you are marked with the Dark Mark, and he doesn't trust you." He looked at Minerva for a moment, "I won't be around forever Severus, and when I'm gone your reputation stands on it's own."

With that, Albus left the staff room leaving an ashen-faced, shocked potions master, and a highly amused Tabby Cat Animagus with a smug grin on her face. He couldn't help but grimace. The problem with priorities, such as his with the war, is having to deal with… unsavory elements for the greater good. It's times like these where he questions, is it really worth it?


	4. Our Choices Make Who We Are

-1Snake in the Lions Den

Chapter Four - The Choice Between What Is Right and What Is Easy

_(Chapter from the point of view of Harry Potter)_

It's amazing how sometimes the simplest of actions can ripple though events, changing everything. Draco Malfoy not wanting to be a Death Eater? This was not something Harry Potter expected to happen, ever. But it had. Three days before the leaving feast, Draco was delivered a black envelope from his father stating that he was to be marked this summer during an initiation ceremony he would enjoy - when Voldemort would attack Harry at Privet Drive.

The first thing Draco did with this information was run to the headmaster's office - he wasn't sure whether or not to trust Snape. The headmaster naturally called Harry up to his office to discuss the implications of this information. It was determined that Privet Drive was no longer safe enough to keep Harry at, so he wouldn't be going back there next summer. He politely asked if it would be alright for Draco to stay at Headquarters, 12 Grimmauld Place, as Harry inherited the house and title of Lord Black from Sirius, which in effect emancipated Harry and released the Potter Family vaults and title, legally making him Lord Potter-Black.

As the Lord of the blood-line of Draco's mother, Harry could remove him from his parents - legally somewhere between emancipation and adoption. So the headmaster had left Harry to have a heart-to-heart with him.

The conversation that followed was amazingly informative. Draco's home life hadn't been much better than Harry's own - both lacking love and affection, but Lucious had plans for Draco to follow in his footsteps, which he didn't want to do at all. The whole conversation Harry was utilizing passive Legilimency to make sure his intentions were good and he was being honest. And the scary part was that Draco was. Some of his childhood stories were horrific - when he was eight and walked in on his father raping some random Muggle, his father killing a stray dog Draco wanted to keep when he was five, the stories got progressively worse.

So Harry did what came naturally to him, shook Draco's hand and offered him a clean slate. Needless to say, Draco was surprised - he didn't know what to expect when he went to the headmaster, but help was not it. Slytherin's were raised to not trust Dumbledore or any special interests he may take - which meant Harry Potter, who was for all purposes and intents Dumbledore's apprentice and protégé. Once all the façade's were tossed aside, Draco found out he had a lot in common with Harry, a lot more than he was willing to admit.

Two hours of conversation had passed before Dumbledore had returned to his office, his eyes twinkling madly as he saw Harry and Draco engrossed in conversation.

"So, I take it you both have come to an understanding?" Albus asked as he sat back at his desk.

"Yes sir," both answered.

"Excellent news indeed. Well, since you both settled your differences, I think we should talk about where you wish to stay for the summer. Harry - Privet Drive is indeed no longer an option, I just apparated there and the wards were weakening exponentially, meaning Voldemort was getting ready to strike soon. I informed your _family,_" he said the last word with no hidden disdain, "and they refused any offers to help or move."

"Meh." Harry said, waving his hand dismissively, "You did everything you could. If their idiocy gets them killed it's not our problem any more."

"Yes, well, let's not worry about them any more." He turned to Draco, "I take it you have no intentions of returning to Malfoy Manor?"

Draco shook his head vehemently, "If I were to return, they would simply put me under the Imperious and force me to take the mark."

"Very well. I think the best option, Harry, is for the both of you to stay at Headquarters this summer." Dumbledore took a piece of parchment and scribbled the secret to allow access to headquarters. He handed the paper to Draco. "Memorize this."

Draco looked at the paper, reading it with interest.

_The location of the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at 12 Grimmauld Place._

Once he finished reading the line, the ink ran off the paper before the parchment disintegrated.

Dumbledore continued talking, "Once there Harry, I need you and Draco to go to the Black family library and look up everything you can on the wards. Only those of Black blood or name can access the library. You are without a doubt one of the most powerful wizards alive, and with your power added to the Black Heartsite, I don't think anything could penetrate the wards."

"No problem sir, I wanted to read up on warding techniques this summer anyway." Harry replied.

Draco looked to him, "I don't mind helping either, it's not as if I have anything important to do. And I don't think I'll be able to show my face in public for a while either."

"Good, good. I just wanted to ask Harry one more thing before you both may leave," Dumbledore continued, popping a lemon drop in his mouth, "I have reasons to believe that we need to relocate the Granger's this summer. Would you mind them moving into Headquarters as well?"

Harry looked excited at the prospect, "Not at all. As soon as they're ready they may move in."

"Excellent. Well I'm sure between yourself, Draco, and Miss Granger that you three will have the wards complete."

Draco nodded, before turning back to leave. "I suppose I'll go and talk with Weasley and Granger." He said before he left for the hospital wing.

After a moment of silence marking Draco's exit, Harry asked, "Would you mind if I remodeled Headquarters at all?"

Dumbledore looked at Harry amusedly. "It is your home, after all Harry, do with it as you like. I do believe however, it would be excellent practice to get… acquainted with your abilities." His eyes were twinkling at record pace.

"What do you mean sir?" Harry asked, confusedly.

"I seem to recall an event where you may have accidentally conjured enough food to feed a small army with a stick." He said with a smile. Harry just stared at him in shock, while Dumbledore chuckled. "There are ways one can see magic for what it is - and I happen to know the feel of your magic very well to notice any peculiarities such as wandless magic. I wouldn't worry though, I suspect the only people capable of seeing magic are yourself, Voldemort and me. Well, once you learn how to anyway."

Dumbledore got up for a moment, crossing his office to where a small trunk laid. "I put a lot of personal books and notes into this for you to keep. Journals of my travels and what I learned, as my mentor Nicholas Flamel did for me. I wish for you to have them, add to them, and pass them on to the next champion of the light when the time comes." He waved his hand and shrunk the trunk to the size of a deck of cards, placing it in Harry's hand. "Read them and use the knowledge well."

Harry was at a loss of words or what to say. No one had ever given him something so important, so priceless before. The knowledge in the books in his hand were all one-of-a-kind. "Thank you, sir. I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing to be said. When Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy and yourself are ready to leave, return here and we'll have you floo to headquarters. Be safe Harry."

With that Harry said goodbye, making sure to keep the trunk in a secure pocket. He wandered aimlessly until he came to the infirmary. He could hear yelling coming from Ron.

"-Doesn't bloody well make it right, ferret!" Ron screamed.

Harry walked in and saw an agitated looking Ron Weasley sitting up in his bed, with a shocked Hermione Granger looking at Harry.

"What's going on here?" Harry asked calmly.

"Hello Harry!" Hermione said with an exuberant smile.

"Harry, mate. Tell me what Mal-Ferret over here is talking about, moving in to Headquarters? HE'S THE BLOODY ENEMY!" Ron yelled.

"Ron, calm down before Madam Pomphrey comes out here and yells again." Hermione attempted to soothe their angry friend.

"Draco will be staying at Headquarters this summer at my request. His home is no longer safe for him. If he wishes to tell you the reasoning why, it's his choice - but I trust him." Harry said.

"If Harry trusts him Ron, you should too." Hermione attempted, apparently this was the wrong thing to do, as their friend shot up out of the bed, snarling.

"I refuse to bloody well accept this. You are all nutters, completely unbalanced is what you are." Ron said as he left the ward.

"Well that didn't go over too well." Harry muttered under his breath. "I'm sorry about his reaction, Draco."

Draco just waved his hand dismissively, "It's not your fault - I've treated him, all of you, like shit just to appease my father all of these years, he has no reason to trust me and I don't particularly blame him." He turned to Hermione, "Granger… Hermione. I'm - I'm sorry about all the insults. I never truly meant what I said, and to be honest I was pretty jealous of your abilities. I know that an apology wont undo all the years, but I hope that we can get along in the future."

Hermione seemed to gaze into his eyes for a moment, trying to see sincerity in his words. Seeing what she wanted, she looked at him pointedly and said, "Yes, I hope we can too. Like I said, if Harry trusts you, then it's good enough for me." She said, offering him her hand, which he politely shook.

Things wouldn't be the same, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything bad. Harry didn't know if Ron would ever come to his senses or not, but he didn't particularly care. The time was coming when the Wizarding world would need unity, and have to be able to see through past transgressions and allow for change.

Ron wasn't a bad person, he was just brought up in a world of black and white. His family was Gryffindor, and Draco's was Slytherin - and both were raised to distrust the other. Both were raised in a world where you don't question why things are the way they are, you just accept everything as fact and move on. It's reasons like that why the Wizarding world was technologically behind the Muggle world. 'There's just no logical sense in why we use quills when pens are so much more convenient,' he thought as an example of the things that Wizarding society was missing out of because of blind prejudice against anything nonmagical.

Harry knew that if change didn't happen, the world would be much worse than anything even Voldemort could inflict. Goblin Rebellions, Rogue Werewolves, Vampire Clans - all problems originating in plain prejudice and racism. And none of the purebloods question any of it - they're raised to believe the world as black and white.

It all boiled down to our choices in life, he knew. It's easy to continue on with the status quo, neither questioning the reasons why we are the way we are nor attempting change. It's much more difficult to change one's ideals and question the values of their society. Between choosing what is right and what is easy, people would almost universally chose that which is easy.

Because that which is right would mean to change who we are as people. Ideals, principles, goals and ambitions.

Harry could defeat Voldemort and the Wizarding world would eventually collapse - as long as people didn't change, there would always be a new Dark Lord vying for power and rule.

Change would eventually force its way upon the world, and it may not necessarily be for the best.


End file.
